Keeping Up with SaaS Offerings

The world of cloud-based applications (Software as a Service, or SaaS) is evolving so rapidly it is hard to keep up.

SaaS vendors like to claim that their software is cheaper than running a server and applications in-house. While it is true that your startup and admin costs may be less, over a 3-5 year span, SaaS applications are likely to be up to 20% more expensive than keeping the same thing in-house. You pay the extra for standard monthly payments (no surprises) and for peace of mind. Think of it as leasing a car. You will likely pay more over the term of the lease, but many people think the benefits outweigh the costs. Practice Management programs tend to cost $40-75 per user, per month.

A good review of the parameters and factors that go in to making an SaaS decision is available from the American Bar Association.  This article includes only a very short list of applications but lacks major players, including the practice management program called Houdini.

Once you decide you want to investigate further, you need to find out what applications are available for your practice. This will inevitably involve a lot of searching, reviews, etc.  A good overview of what exists is available in the article by Stephanie Kimbro and Tom Mighell in the September issue of Law Practice Management.

A more detailed review of specific practice management applications – Clio, Houdini, Livia, MyCase and Rocket Matter – is available from Law Technology News.

These SaaS applications tend to have two partially contradictory features.  First, they are not as robust or full featured as desktop applications. This is logical, since the leading desktop applications have been around for 20 years or so and the SaaS programs have generally only been around for 2-5 years. The second feature, which over time will compensate for the current lack of features, is that these applications are developing very rapidly. In addition, they can roll out new features one at a time, they do not have to wait for a desktop-type release cycle.

One of the key features to consider is whether or not you want to customize the applications. Programs that are customizable, such as Advologix or Houdini, tend to be more expensive that programs such as Clio or Rocket Matter, which are not. But if you needs are simply, the “what you see is what you get” programs may be adequate for your firm.

Comments

[Crina]

This is a very comprehensive roundup, John. Saas vendors are taking extra-steps to make their web apps more robust and secure. I think you would also be interested to take a look at Agilewords, a SaaS solution we created to improve document collaboration in the legal services area. Looking forward to reading more from you!